Notables
-Exhibition Game
-CSS was 2-of-11 from the field in overtime
-Saints made nine 3-pointers, led by Deadrick with four
DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's basketball team went to overtime against Division II's University of Minnesota, Crookston in an exhibition game on Friday night at the Reif Gymnasium, but the Golden Eagles went on a 7-0 in overtime to prevail 85-80.
First Half
The Golden Eagles led for over 15 minutes in the first half, but the margin only got as high as seven points. St. Scholastica closed the half on a 7-2 run to go into the locker room trailing 32-30.
Crookston shot 45 percent from the floor in the half, while the Saints were held to 32 percent.
Kory Deadrick (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) led CSS with nine points and Chase Knickerbocker had 10 points to pace the Golden Eagles.
Second Half
The Golden Eagles scored nine of the first 11 points in the second half for their biggest lead of the game at 41-32. Back-to-back buckets by
Joe Stark (Hayward, Wis./Hayward HS) got the margin down to one with 13:37 to go. Another Stark layup gave the Saints the lead moments later.
However, Crookston answered with a 10-2 run to take a seven-point lead. The Golden Eagles led by five with a minute remaining when Stark was fouled on a 3-point attempt. He converted all three free throws to cut it to two. After a Crookston tip-in,
Kory Deadrick (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) drained a 3-pointer to cut the margin to 72-71.
Following a pair of Crookston free throws, the Saints needed a 3-pointer to tie.
Brandon Newman (Barnum, Minn./Barnum HS)'s attempt would be off the mark, but he got his own rebound and found
Julius Johnson (Minneapolis, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) on the wing and he drained a 3-pointer in the waning moments to send the game into overtime tied at 74-74.
Overtime
The Saints missed their first six field goal attempts in overtime and that allowed Crookston to open up an eight-point advantage. Layups by Newman and Johnson cut the margin to four, but the Golden Eagles held off the Saints for the 85-80 victory.
Top Performances for CSS
Deadrick had 21 points to lead the Saints. He also grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds for a double-double. Johnson added 17 points with Stark scoring 15 and Newman chipping in with 11. Newman also had a team-high four assists.
Top Performances for the Opponent
Harrison Cleary led Crookston with 21 points. Gable Smith had 11 points and a game-high 16 rebounds.
Up Next
The Saints open their 2016-17 season for real on Friday, November 18 against Blackburn College (Ill.) in the Pioneer Tip-Off, hosted by Carroll University (Wis.).
